Blazers general manager said of Eric Maynor: "At one point, he was considered the premier backup point guard in the NBA."Associated Press

TUALATIN – The Trail Blazers got a backup point guard who could potentially be here long-term, and they did so without giving away much at all.

That was the conclusion Thursday of Portland general manager Neil Olshey as he spoke about the deal he completed at about 11:30 a.m. – a half hour before the trade deadline -- to acquire Eric Maynor from the Oklahoma City Thunder in a deal that maintained the Blazers’ “sustainability.”

“I think we stayed true to that model while still adding an asset without giving away any of our future cap flexibility,” Olshey said. “I think we’ve had a pretty successful trade deadline.”

The Blazers sent the draft rights to Greek player Georgios Printezis to Oklahoma City while rounding out the deal with the $2.4 million trade exception they gained in the summer sign-and-trade that sent Raymond Felton to New York and brought Jared Jeffries to Portland.

The Blazers gained a 25-year-old pass-first point guard who is adept at getting his teammates shots and for several seasons served as the backup to Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook, a three-time All-Star.

“At one point, he was considered the premier backup point guard in the NBA,” Olshey said.

The Blazers already had 15 players on their roster, so they waived veteran point guard Ronnie Price. Olshey praised Price’s professionalism, but said he needed to make room for Maynor.

“We just felt like by bringing a point guard like Eric who’s going to play significant minutes, we needed to waive a point guard, and unfortunately, Ronnie was the likely candidate at this point,” Olshey said.

The 6-foot-3, 175-pound Maynor has career averages of 4.2 points and 2.9 assists in 14.3 minutes. He started his career with Utah, which drafted him out of Virginia Commonwealth with the 20th pick of the 2009 draft, and he played 26 games as a Jazz teammate of Blazers guard Wesley Matthews before he was traded Dec. 22, 2009, to Oklahoma City.

Olshey said he tracked Maynor leading up to the ’09 draft, and Blazers assistant general manager Bill Branch and assistant coach David Vanterpool know Maynor well from their stints with the Thunder.

“He plays the kind of style we like to play,” Olshey said. “He’s a great guy to run our second unit while being able to play with our starters. He plays with good pace, good tempo, he takes care of the basketball, he makes good decisions, and we also think we can experiment a little bit with he and Damian (Lillard) on the floor at the same time.”

Lillard, the Blazers’ starting point guard, was the only Portland player to speak to the media after Thursday’s practice before the team left for a 3 p.m. flight to Los Angeles, where they play the Lakers on Friday. Lillard touted Maynor’s postseason experience -- he has appeared in 23 playoff games, including the 2011 Western Conference finals.

"It'll be a lot of help just because he's been there, he's seen it all -- a lot more than I have," Lillard said. "His years in the league, I think he'll be able to teach me a lot."

Maynor’s career stalled last season after he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in a game at Houston, then had reconstructive surgery Jan. 18. This season, he initially returned to his role as Westbrook's backup, but lost his spot in OKC's rotation to Reggie Jackson – a player Olshey called the “steal” of the 2011 draft -- and has not played in 17 of the Thunder's last 28 games.

“With Eric, I think the opportunity went away, they’ve clearly been successful, they have a great backcourt there, and it’s a great opportunity for Eric to find a new home,” Olshey said. “He’ll have an opportunity here to play significant minutes behind and with Damian, and we hope that he’s the player he was when he was helping Oklahoma City win playoff games.”

Maynor, who will wear No. 6, is eligible to become a restricted free agent this summer. The Blazers will be able tender him a qualifying offer worth $3.35 million (as determined by a preset formula in the collective bargaining agreement) between the end of the NBA finals and June 30. Olshey said he will have to see how Maynor fits in with the Blazers before he makes that decision, but the hope is Maynor could become a long-term addition.

“I’d like to hope that,” Olshey said. “You don’t make moves just for 28 games. But clearly there’s going to be an evaluation curve for us where we’re going to have to evaluate Eric, see how he fits in with out team, our style of play, our culture. I know he’s got goals and aspirations beyond just being a backup. We’ll see what kind of opportunities present themselves.”

Maynor won’t play against the Lakers, but is expected to arrive in Portland on Friday for a physical. Olshey said he expects Maynor to practice with his new team Saturday.